


Headcanon about Hugh

by foxspirit1928



Category: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: Gen, Headcanon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-06
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2019-03-27 15:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxspirit1928/pseuds/foxspirit1928
Summary: The headcanon about Hugh was Day 7 of the Miss Fisher Fandom 30 Day Challenge, originally posted on Tumblr on 08-Feb-2015. Because it was before S3 aired, the story ended at the unsolved paradox of pursuing a modern woman.I added an addendum at the end when re-posting it for the challenge reprise on 05-Mar-2018, but it's not a canon, just a brief summary of S3.





	Headcanon about Hugh

**Author's Note:**

> The headcanon about Hugh was Day 7 of the Miss Fisher Fandom 30 Day Challenge, originally posted on Tumblr on 08-Feb-2015. Because it was before S3 aired, the story ended at the unsolved paradox of pursuing a modern woman. 
> 
> I added an addendum at the end when re-posting it for the challenge reprise on 05-Mar-2018, but it's not a canon, just a brief summary of S3.

What can I say about Hugh, the purveyor of quiet yet irresistible constabulary charm? 

He was raised by a single mother with a strong religious background and grew up among all female siblings (2 elder sisters and 1 younger sister). His mother was fiercely protective since his father’s untimely death and strongly opposed to his career choice as a policeman. She wanted him to have a safe desk job (like a banker), marry a proper Protestant girl (like their neighbor’s daughter Margaret), and lead a quiet life living in her neighborhood (like his elder sisters with their husbands and kids).

Although he loved his mother, Hugh failed to fulfill her wishes on all accounts. While in school, he was terrible at math but excelled in boxing and swimming (he won several trophies in various competitions, but unfortunately his mother was not as impressed as he’d hope). He liked Margaret well enough, but he found her too demure and boring for his liking, especially since he met Dot. The fact that Dot was a Catholic and worked for a “lady detective” who had a reputation of loose moral shocked and disappointed his mother. As Hugh started spending more time with Dot, going to pictures and taking walks, his mother had some harsh words for him, and he eventually moved out of her house.

His sisters, however, were quite fond of Dot. Growing up under their mother’s strict rules and tight rein, they envied Dot’s exciting and adventurous life. Hugh’s nephews and nieces loved it when Uncle Hugh and Dottie visited them. The boys enjoyed playing footy games and toy cars with Hugh, and he would teach them boxing. Dottie always brought them delicious baked goods and biscuits, and the girls never got tired of listening to her stories about Miss Fisher and her fancy clothes, her dangerous yet thrilling motoring experience, her being kidnapped by bank robbers, her near escape from getting fed into a giant machine in a factory, and her meetings with real film stars.

Sometimes, Hugh and Dot would run into his mother when they visited his sisters. Those occasions were unpleasant and awkward. Hugh’s mother would give Dot a polite nod and then avoid having any direct interaction with her, whilst Dot, being a sweet and modest girl, tried her best not to attract too much attention to herself. Being caught in the middle, Hugh wished there was something he could do to change his mother’s mind. He loved Dot with all his heart and couldn’t imagine life without her in it, but he couldn’t bear to break his mother’s heart either.

When he finally decided to propose to Dot, he confided in his sisters. They were happy for him and promised that they would help turn their mother around, eventually. With his sisters’ help, Hugh picked out a ring and started planning for the proposal. Although it didn’t turn out exactly the way he envisioned, she did say yes and even called it perfect! When Hugh and Dot later recounted the whole event to his sisters, they all had a good laugh.

After overcoming the little bump post engagement, Hugh had a better understanding of his fiancé. He always knew that she was kind, sweet, funny, and had a lot of common sense. After he and the Inspector worked on cases with Miss Fisher and Dottie the last couple of years, he also grew to admire her wit, courage, and confidence. If she wished to continue to work for Miss Fisher after they got married, he was willing to have a long engagement until they could figure out an acceptable arrangement.

Besides, he was in no hurry anyway; he still hadn’t received his mother’s blessing. Hugh always looked up to Inspector Robinson, and he knew that his mother respected his superior a great deal as well. Perhaps he could ask the Inspector to convince his mother what a great girl Dottie was in spite of being a Catholic. While he was at it, perhaps the Inspector could also explain to his mother the paradox of marrying a modern woman…

********************

Addendum:

At the beginning of S3, we were all quite frustrated with Hugh as he didn’t seem to have made much progress in keeping up with his modern woman fiancée. When he left for fishing, I actually panicked a little, wondering if that was the end of the adorable Constable and the sweet Dot and Hugh courtship. The two episodes of Constable Not-Hugh (aka Martin), who Mac wisely pointed out “It’s men like that that make the rest of them look reasonable”, made me miss Hugh terribly and wish for his return.

Of course, we all know how things transpired. Not only did he come back, get the promotion he wanted and deserved (thanks to Jack), earned the praises from Miss Fisher (“I must say, Hugh, those new stripes suit you”), but he also achieved the impossible mission of convincing the stubborn Father O’Leary that “God invented the miracle of science”. At the end, he won the hand and the heart of the “morally upright and intelligent” (and pretty) Dorothy Anne Williams. What a feat, Hugh Theobald Collins!


End file.
